Under Our Black Cult: North American Tour 2023 - Rotting Christ Returns to The Masquerade!
Well-known and legendary Greek black/gothic metal juggernauts Rotting Christ (and personal favorites of mine) were back touring stateside on their Under Our Black Cult North American Tour with opening support from Carach Angren, UADA, & Gaerea. Originally named Black Church (c. 1984) and renamed later to Rotting Christ in 1987 when brothers Sakis Tolis (vocals/guitars) and Themis Tolis (drums) joined the band. Rotting Christ is considered one of the first black metal bands to come from the Mediterranean Region. They are also responsible for influencing the black metal community in Greece during the onset of their career in the 1990s. Currently, the band consists of Sakis Tolis (vocals/guitars), Themis Tolis (drums), Kostas “Spades” Heliotis (bass/backing vocals), and Kostis Foukarakis (guitar/backing vocals). They have released thirteen (13) LPs, one (1) EP, and numerous demos/compilations/DVDs over their historic musical career.
Their latest release, The Heretics (2019), is an incredible album and deserves more attention even years after its release. The underlining theme for this album focuses on renowned literary icons, poets, and authors who were considered “heretics” during their lifetime, such as Mark Twain, Friedrich Nietzsche, Thomas Paine, and Edgar Allen Poe. You can also check out my first review of Rotting Christ from last year’s Devastation of the Nation Tour live from The Masquerade in Atlanta exclusively on Concerthopper.com by following this link. Anytime Rotting Christ makes the trip to the United States to tour, make sure you attend one of their shows. You will thank me afterward. Non Serviam!
The set list from Rotting Christ’s triumphant return to The Masquerade is below:
· “666”
· “Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy”
· “Fire, God, and Fear”
· “Dub-sag-ta-ke”
· “Apage Satana”
· “Elthe Kyrie”
· “Demonon Vrosis”
· “Societas Satanas” (Thou Art Lord cover)
· “Non Serviam”
· “In Yumen-Xibalba”
· “Grandis Spiritus Diavolos”
· “The Raven”
Encore:
· “Noctis Era”
Follow these two separate links to Rotting Christ’s Official Bandcamp and to the Bandcamp page run by their label Season of Mist and listen for yourself. If you are going to listen to Rotting Christ for the first time, I suggest listening to their live album, Lucifer Over Athens, as your starting point. I believe this highlights Rotting Christ’s ability to create a symphonic journey through their melodic yet often very shadowy lyrics. The set list used for this album will make any fan of Rotting Christ salivate to witness live, especially seeing them live at a hometown show in Athens, Greece. You can order lots of merch (including vinyl variants) from Rotting Christ over on Season of Mist’s website.
Carach Angren is a symphonic black/horror metal band from Landgraaf, Netherlands that formed as a band in 2003 by Dennis “Seregor” Droomers (lead vocals/guitars) and Clemens “Ardek” Wijers (keyboards/backing vocals). While on tour, Bastiaan “The Butcher” Boh joins the band to play guitar as well. The band has released six (6) LPs, one (1) EP, and one (1) demo. Their latest album, Franckensteina Strataemontanus” was released in November 2020 and retells the age-old story of Johann Konrad Dippel, which inspired Mary Shelly’s novel ‘Frankenstein’.
You can see Carach Angren’s set list below:
· “The Ghost of Raynham Hall”
· “The Carriage Wheel Murder”
· “The Necromancer”
· “Bitte Totet Mich”
· “Operation Compass”
· “Franckensteina Strataemontanus”
· “A Strange Presence Near the Woods”
· “Monster”
· “Bloodstains on the Captain’s Log”
You can hear Carach Angren by following this link to their Official Bandcamp page today!
UADA (Latin for “haunted”) is a melodic black metal band from Portland, Oregon that formed in 2014. UADA consists of James Sloan (guitars), James Superchi (vocals/guitars), Nate Verschoor (bass), and Josh Lovejoy (drums). UADA has released three (3) LPs with Djinn being the latest release from 2020. As the only stateside black metal act on this tour, UADA proved to everyone why Rotting Christ invited them to perform on the Under Our Black Cult Tour. What started to be a difficult stage setting to photograph with the low lights and heavy smoke, turned into an exquisitely, dark, and intimate performance by UADA.
You can check out UADA’s set list below:
· “Djinn”
· “Retraversing the Void”
· “Cult of a Dying Sun”
· “Black Autumn, White Spring”
Want to check out UADA? Follow this link to UADA’s Official Bandcamp page today!
Fellow Season of Mist label mates, Gaerea is a post-black metal band from Porto, Portugal that formed in 2016. The band consists of Guilherme Henriques (vocals/guitars), Lucas Ferrand (bass), and Diogo Mota (drums). Gaerea has released three (3) LPs, one (1) EP, and three (3) singles. They are touring in support of their latest release, Mirage (2022). Also, something worth noting is that the Under Our Black Cult Tour was Gaerea’s first time playing in the United States and Canada. The stage presence of Gaerea is something to behold and had this Concerthopper enthralled as soon as they took the stage. I was not that familiar with the music of Carach Angren or Gaerea before this tour. That would change very fast once the lights went out before Gaerea’s formidable and stunning opening set.
Gaerea’s set from this night at The Masquerade is below:
· “Deluge”
· “Salve”
· “Mirage”
· “Urge”
· “Laude”
Follow this link to Gaerea’s Official Bandcamp page and show them some support today!
Unfortunately, the last show for this North American tour was on March 14th (the night after this show in Atlanta) at The Haven in Orlando, Florida. Now the countdown begins for the next North American tour for Rotting Christ. You can still see Rotting Christ on tour in Europe on the following dates:
24 Mar 2023-Capital Death Fest-Galve-(SWEDEN)
25 Mar 2023-Thunder Metal Fest-Antwerp-(BELGIUM)
9 Apr 2023-Dark Easter Metal Meeting-Munich-(GERMANY)
28 Apr 2023-Black Hole Festival-Wetzikon-(SWITZERLAND)
29 Apr 2023-Gothoom Festival-Zemberovce -(SLOVAKIA)
4 May 2023-Karmaggedon Festival-Kopervik-(NORWAY)
12 May 2023-Durbuy Rock Festival-Bomal-sur-ourthe-(BELGIUM)
13 May 2023-Incineration Festival-London-(U.K.)
23-25 Jun 2023-Rock Imperium Festival-Cartagena-(SPAIN)
22 July 2023-John Smith Festival-Peurunka-(FINLAND)
4 Aug 2023-Saarihelveti Festival-Tampere-(FINLAND)
17 Aug 2023-Frantic Fest-Francavilla al mare-(ITALY)
18 Aug 2023-Kaltenbach Open Air-Spital am Semmering-(AUSTRIA)
02 Sep 2023-Rethymno Rocks Festival-Rethymno-(GREECE)
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